(Image and text courtesy of MIT) Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to prevent wax-based PCMs from releasing their stored heat until triggered by light. MIT’s Professor Jeffrey Grossman stated that “the trouble with thermal energy is, it’s hard to hold onto it,” So his team developed what are essentially…

A new version of the US Department of Energy’s building modelling software, EnergyPlus (version 8.8.0) has been announced which includes a new PCM module. This module, developed by NRGsim Inc., uses both the melting and freezing graphs and hence takes account of hysteresis. The input data required can be found in the Input Output Reference…

This is a report by Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA), under contract to the US Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) (see http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=AD1022577). A hybrid Environmental Control Unit (HECU) technology was demonstrated in which the integrated heat exchangers, filled with Phase Change Material (PCM), were fitted into a facility’s air conditioning system at the…